In the News

Supply barges for the central Arctic communities of Paulatuk, Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay have been blocked by sea ice, forcing the cancellation of the annual 'sealift'. Millions of dollars worth of fuel, food and consumer goods are stranded on the dock at Tuktoyaktuk.

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, wife of the prime minister will sponsor the future HMCS Harry DeWolf at a naming ceremony on Friday at Halifax Shipyard. The ship is the first of the Royal Canadian Navy's lead Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships fleet.

The Canada Revenue Agency has suspended the charitable status of the Islamic Society of North America-Canada (ISNA-Canada) for a year and ordered it to pay a $550,000 penalty. An audit raised concerns it had “provided resources” that may have supported armed militancy.

When marijuana use becomes legal in Canada on October 17, the difference between Canadian and US federal policies will focus on the border. Even Canadian marijuana users not in actual possession of the substance at the time of crossing into the United States could run afoul of American laws.

A sophisticated ring of car thieves operating in major cities across Eastern Canada has been "almost exclusively" targeting large Lexus SUVs and Toyota Highlander and 4Runners. After breaking into the vehicle, they reprogram the console to accept a new key, and then simply drive away (often in the middle of the night).

A fresh look at Canada’s ability to defend against possible online threats to the next national election will among a new federal cybersecurity centre’s first tasks. An updated version of a groundbreaking report on lurking dangers to electoral integrity will be issued in the new year, said Scott Jones, head of the fledgling Canadian Centre for Cyber Security.

The Ottawa police force has decided that legal marijuana is legal for everybody, including their officers. The requirement to show up for work unimpaired remains, but the force will not impose restrictions on how long officers must refrain from consumption before duty begins.

Members of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command and the RCAF will conduct a military training event at the Uplands site of Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa) on October 3, 2018. Residents can expect increased noise and low-level flying of CH-146 Griffon and CH-147F Chinook helicopters during this training.

The number of potentially fatal close encounters between drones and conventional air traffic has increased sharply in Canada, from 38 cases in 2014 to 135 in 2017. Former military pilot David Cooke says sooner or later a drone strike will kill someone.

Advocates are calling for the federal government to examine the reliability of Canada's cellphone services during emergencies after tornadoes swept through the Ottawa area last week leaving thousands with little or no cellphone service.

Canadian and American negotiators agreed on a revamped trade deal to replace NAFTA just ahead of a midnight deadline. The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA allows US dairy farmers more access to the Canadian market, among other provisions.

Toronto will expand a neighbourhood officer program to build trust and reduce crime, by more than doubling the number of community officers over the next year. About 120 officers will work in 27 districts.

The 'Five Eyes' intelligence community - Canada, US, UK, New Zealand, Australia - wants tech companies to give them access to private communications on consumer products. Opponents of the move insist such 'backdoors' would benefit criminals and terrorists as much as security and law enforcement.

The failings of the justice system that contributed to the horrific murders of three women at their eastern Ontario homes were monumental, but if any changes have been made to address those failings, they’re being well hidden, says the Toronto Sun.

Federal government lawyers have asked for closed-door hearings in a court case alleging that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service spied on anti-pipeline activists. The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association says the request violates the principle that justice must be seen to be done.

British Columbia will investigate how money laundering in the real estate market may inflate housing prices. The Ministry of Finance will look real estate and financial services vulnerability to money laundering, and the Attorney General will investigate specific cases of money laundering.

The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) has joined other Canadian police forces in rejecting the only federally approved roadside marijuana test. The VPD says the device doesn’t work in sub-zero temperatures, is bulky and takes too long to produce a result.

In a bid to attract more recruits, the Canadian military is changing its policy to allow soldiers to grow beards after completing basic training. Right now, a small group can have beards: sailors, some specialized soldiers and members whose religion requires keeping facial hair.

Democracy Watch calls on Ontario's Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk to investigate if public money was spent on the Ford Conservatives’ fake news videos posted on social media, and if they violate the Government Advertising Act.

Veterans Affairs Canada has announced that in future it will not pay benefits for jailed relatives of retired military personnel. Controversy erupted when it became known that the convicted murderer of a Halifax police officer received PTSD treatments for his crime under his veteran father's benefits plan. It is unclear if those payments have been terminated.

James Mattis, the US secretary of defense, says there are too few women in frontline infantry positions to determine if their participation is a success. He has asked US Army and Marine leadership for more information about putting women in a "close-quarters fight".

After a high number of North Atlantic right whale deaths in the summer of 2017, Dalhousie University launched the Whale Habitat and Listening Experiment. The Canadian Forces assisted with the simultaneous deployment of boats, aircraft, underwater robots, military sonobuoys, and satellites over a 1,500 square kilometre area to study whale activity over two days.

New stats highlight the scale of human trafficking in Nova Scotia. According to Statistics Canada, which compiled police-reported incidents of human trafficking between 2009 and 2016, Halifax is beating cities like Toronto and Vancouver for all the wrong reasons.

A new Canadian Forces building planned for Yellowknife will provide offices, an assembly space and drill hall, and warehouse and garage space. Estimated at between $50 million and $99 million, the space will support about 360 military and civilian personnel.

The defence minister, Harjit Sajjan says the winner of the $60-billion Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) procurement will be announced by the end of the year. Some observers believe an announcement could be made in early October at DefSec in Halifax.

Canada will create a new ambassador position dedicated to women, peace and security, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Saturday. She said that the new ambassador would help champion feminist-based aid programs and advocate for more female participation in peacekeeping and conflict resolution.

Organized crime is moving online and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is struggling to keep up, according to a briefing note prepared for RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki when she took over the top job earlier this year.

During a series of exercises on a mock battlefield in urban Montreal Canadian soldiers tested a new British weapon that uses artificial intelligence to scan the battlefield for enemy movements. Space age technology tracks opposing forces in built up areas and alerts soldiers to danger.

Britain will step up its cyber crime offensive against the threat from Russia and terrorist groups with a new £250m ($CAN 422m) joint task force between the Ministry of Defence and GCHQ, it was reported last night.

A joint police task force in Ontario has announced the arrest of Jabril Hassan Abdalla for the murder of mobster Angelo Musitano and the inadvertent murder of Mila Barberi, A manhunt for two other people has led police to Mexico.

Ottawa is launching nationwide consultations on a handgun ban, a move that will fuel a national debate on the need for tighter gun control and the proper response to growing gun crimes across the country.

After speaking on Wednesday to a Parliamentary Committee looking into the state of Canada's military preparedness in the north, MGen William F. Seymour, deputy commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command said it is alarmist to suggest that Canadian sovereignty is under threat. However, Seymour told the committee, “Sovereignty ignored is perhaps sovereignty lost."

Almost all of Canada’s 15 largest police forces have not yet ordered equipment to test a driver’s saliva for recent drug use. Only one device has been approved for use. Marijuana use becomes legal on October 17, but driving while impaired remains a crime.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police report 1,747 people entered Canada illegally last month, up by 113 from previous month. Critics blame the arrivals on a January 28, 2017 tweet by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength."

After an internal discussion, military leadership has decided to retain the current yellow paint scheme for the RCAF’s new fleet of 16 Airbus C-295W search and rescue aircraft. Some officers advocated tactical grey, so the aircraft could be available for other tasks, including combat.

What would happen if there was a major air disaster in Canada? That's what the CAF was figuring out on Tuesday in Yellowknife. CAF members were flown to town for a major air disaster exercise as part of Operation Nanook, held annually in the North.

Canada is conducting a national security analysis to minimize cyberthreats to the country from equipment made by foreign telecommunications companies, including China’s Huawei – a study that has gained importance since the United States and Australia banned the telecom giant from participating in new wireless cellular networks.

The province of British Columbia is suing 40 companies involved in opioid production. Attorney General David Eby said allegations against drug producers include failure to track their output and to realize some was being diverted to illegal markets.

On Saturday, a pickup truck sped north through a Vancouver-area border crossing and was able to penetrate more than 50 kilometres into Canada before crashing. The incident highlighted a potentially dangerous quirk of border security: Canadian border guards are not allowed to chase vehicles that blow through border crossings.

Leona Alleslev, Member of Parliament and former Royal Canadian Air Force officer, left the Liberal party and crossed the floor of the House of Commons to join the Conservatives. She is now the party's global security critic.

United States border officials have stated they may deny entry to people involved in Canada’s marijuana industry. Mike Farnworth, British Columbia’s solicitor general is concerned the US may bar provincial government employees in the province’s new legal cannabis branch from travelling across the American border.

Experts reveal that bacteria such as anthrax (which occurs naturally in the soil and can infect cattle and wild animals) and foot and mouth disease could pose a much bigger threat than chemical weapons.

Federal prosecutors are acting to have content removed from the internet under the terrorism-propaganda provision of the Criminal Code. Under the law, internet service providers and social-media companies can be ordered to take down material and reveal the identity of the person who posted it.

There are hard lessons to be learned from the disproportionate Saudi response to a tweet from our Foreign Affairs Minister calling for the release of imprisoned rights activists, and an opportunity to make our country better prepared and more resilient, says Louis Vachon.

Governor-General Julie Payette has been frequently at odds with the RCMP over security issues in the first year of her mandate, from her decision to go jogging without informing her protective detail to the fact that she lives off the protected grounds of Rideau Hall, current and former RCMP sources say.

Autumn weather has reduced the scale of forest fires in British Columbia, so Canadian Forces members supporting the civil authority are returning to their military duties. More than 400 members participated in the firefighting mission.

Zakaria Amara is serving a life sentence for his part in a plot to detonate truck bombs in downtown Toronto, but for six months, a Facebook page showed what were apparently his prison photos and writings. The account was deleted after reporters notified the company.

An arbitrator's report says Ontario Provincial Police bungled the return to work of a mentally ill officer so badly that colleagues and the public were possibly in jeopardy. After the breakup of her marriage, the unnamed officer was diagnosed with recurrent major depressive disorder and characteristics of borderline personality disorder.

The U.S. Navy is preparing several large ships to assist in disaster relief operations along the southeast coast later this week, after Hurricane Florence makes landfall in what promises to be one of the most destructive hurricanes in years.

Following shoplifting and assault charges, an Ottawa court has ordered Abdulmati Elmi, 24, to surrender his passport, avoid contact with ISIS influences and meet a number of other conditions. Failure to comply could bring a four year prison term.

The Trudeau government is proposing a $100 million settlement to end a four year legal battle with disabled veterans seeking the return of financial benefits they had lost. The case is one of several class action lawsuits filed by veterans against the government.

Coquitlam City Councillor Teri Towner has initiated an online petition to recognize the valued service within search and rescue communities by establishing March 1st as “National Search and Rescue Day” to honour the living, past and present search and rescue volunteers to whom Canadians owe an immense debt of gratitude.

The public is invited to attend a ceremony marking the 78th anniversary of the Battle of Britain at the Gatineau-Ottawa Executive Airport (1717 rue Arthur-Fecteau). The two-hour event will commence at 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 16th.

Marijuana becomes legal for Canadians on October 17, including, with some restrictions, members of the armed forces. Senior officers have explained the military's policy and potential impact on operations to close allies.

Hurricane Florence could inflict the hardest hurricane punch the Carolinas have seen in more than 60 years, with rain and wind of more than 209 kph. North Carolina has been hit by only one other Category 4 storm since reliable record keeping began in the 1850s. That was Hurricane Hazel in 1954.

When the 364-foot Russian research cruise ship Akademik Ioffe came to a violent stop after grounding on a shoal in the remote Arctic, it took nearly nine hours for a Hercules aircraft to fly in from the RCAF’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton, 12 hours for another RCAF plane to come in from Winnipeg and 20 hours for a Coast Guard helicopter to fly over.

Some soldiers are heading home after fighting British Columbia forest fires for almost a month. About 100 land task force members will remain to assist with fire containment. At the height of the effort about 420 Canadian Forces members and three aircraft were engaged in the effort.

The search for German pop star Daniel Küblböck off the coast of Newfoundland has been called off. The singer apparently jumped into the ocean from a cruise ship Sunday. Search and rescue officials said the ocean temperature made survival unlikely.

Australian war crimes investigators visited Canada last year to study how allegations about Joint Task Force 2 special operators were handled. Last week, a Canadian board of inquiry stated that concerns about special forces members had been brushed aside.